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128 Birch Street
Boston, MA, 02131
United States

(617) 390-4076

Invent Boston designs and develops original products to add science + whimsy to  every day tasks at home.   Our first product is a Two Minute timer, Two Minute Turtle, a visual timer. The Two Minute Turtle helps children and adults focus on two minute tasks such as brushing teeth, physical therapy, taking a shower and speaking (practicing a presentation or learning a language).

Invent Boston™, Home of the Two Minute Turtle Timer™

Invent Boston™ blog offers tips and stories by parents, for parents of children ages 4-12 to make toothbrushing and other healthy habits at home, more fun. We write about simple tactics to help kids do what they like to do-touch, seeing, play games and strive for independence. We recommend products to help stay healthy while being kids. We share stories to transform daily healthy habits from something kids resist (for example, toothbrushing, handwashing, toilet training, organizing, taking time-out or pausing, yoga, and taking turns) into something children are motivated to do independently, without parents’ reminders. The original physical product Invent Boston has designed for families is the new light-up Two Minute Turtle Timer, an analog, interval toothbrush timer to make brushing teeth fun for kids. Kids like to press the button, follow the flippers and brush until all the lights blink—the Victory Lap signals to brush the tongue.

It will Consume You!

Virginia Berman

I was at an inventor’s meeting recently. I ran into one of the success stories—the guys who “made it”—have a product widely available on the market and appear to be profitable. Always excited to learn from those further down the road from me, I asked his advice on whether to mass produce. That’s the step we have in front of us. I appreciate honesty but even this may have been more honesty than I was prepared for…

“It (the business) will eat you up. You’ll be on the phone at 1:00 AM working, and then for the rest of the day. And you’ll be trying to make pay-roll every single week. And all I wanted to do was make things. And the large stores will order 20,000 and then change their mind. And then an order will be stuck at the harbor when there’s a Longshoreman Strike. And you’ll miss the main selling season. And you’ll be expected to pay for orders that a big store sends back to you. And you’ll wish you licensed your product. Why would you start a business?!”

Or as my wise nephew said, “those who succeed at start-ups, eat nails for breakfast.” I feel like I’m eating my nails for breakfast. And it’s OK. It’s what I signed up for. I’m in the right place. Let’s keep moving forward. Like our motto, slow, steady, forward.

Virginia Berman was told that starting up a store would require all her focus